May 12, 2021

To the Community: I would like to thank our school administration, the faculty, staff and the Bronxville School Board for making the Bronxville High School the highest ranked school in the region, #13 in New York State and #145 in the country. It should be all of our responsibility to assure that we hold and improve these rankings by making the Bronxville School’s number one priority, the academic excellence of all students. We should focus on what is important for our children to advance in this world and should be disciplined on how we introduce ideas into the school’s curriculum. We need to develop critical thinkers and problem solvers. Two areas that will add to the growth of our students is a flexible education program and involvement with the local community.

Flex learning, for those that don’t know is an innovative method of teaching to reach all styles of learners. In today’s world and with the speed of change, flexibility should be on all of our minds. We learned this the past 15 months. Not all children want, need or fit into the rigid doctrine of a “one-size fits all curriculum”. Let’s think outside the box and come up with new ideas.

A great way to further students learning is leveraging what the village has to offer. There is a successful partnership program with Sarah Lawrence around the arts and this success should be replicated. I would recommend that we further the options under this program, as well as expanding it to New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital, the incoming Iona College and the other schools in the village. This will open up learning opportunities in the Arts, Healthcare, Teaching and Education for our students.

Since I learned that one of the candidates running for the school board is a student, I have been wondering, is it a good thing or a bad thing? Then, while attending the School Board meeting on Thursday evening, it was mentioned that a petition had been filed requesting that one of the school board seats be allocated to a student. The petition was voted down not on its merit but on technical terms – it was filed late and didn’t have the appropriate number of signatures.

Hypothetically, I can picture the exchange against it: lack of life experience, limited skill in negotiation, no financial expertise, and any other argument you can make against those entering adulthood. On the other hand, the students are the most connected to the school and the population most likely to benefit from a representative.  A civic minded student would benefit from the experience of participation in and of itself. I would propose that a senior is elected each year by their peers and teachers to represent the interests of the students. This would be a non-voting, non-executive session member.

With the election fast approaching on May 18th, I want to convey the importance of voting. It is imperative that we continue to make academic excellence the number one priority of the school. We all know that the school and its exemplary education program is the draw for most of us and for future generations. Let’s not let this slip out of our hands. A vote for me is a vote to continue the progress that has been accomplished over the last 100 years and to continue into the next 100.

The polls will be open from 7:00 am – 9:00 pm in the Blue Gym at the Bronxville School. Please enter through Meadow Avenue. Even if you don’t have children in the school, please come out and vote.

Editor's note:  MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.